UAE officials dispute IMF's 2009 growth forecast

Key government officials yesterday disputed the IMF's Regional Economic Outlook, which projects the UAE real GDP growth will drop by -0.06 per cent this year before going up to 1.6 per cent in 2010, down from a growth of 7.4 per cent in 2008.

Nasser Saidi, chief economist of DIFC said the IMF has been "unduly pessimistic", adding that there may also be a large margin of error. "I am still projecting 1-2 per cent overall growth," he said.

Ahmad Abu Gaida, Acting Director of Economic Planning at Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, said the UAE will continue to rake in positive real growth primarily due to its ongoing investment and infrastructure projects.